Shortage of MoD police is threat to Trident security

SECURITY at Scotland’s nuclear bases is at an all-time low, police have admitted.

Ministry of Defence Police say they do not have enough officers to keep watch over Trident missiles

The Ministry of Defence Police say they do not have enough officers to keep watch over the Clyde-based Trident missile system and other sites. Its 2,700 officers protect 120 military facilities across the UK but they are relying on “excessive overtime” to maintain security, an official report has warned.

Despite a recruitment drive, the force only expanded its workforce by five officers in 2014-15 because so many quit.

The report, by watchdog the MoD Police Committee, warned it is being stretched ever thinner.

“It remains true that this level of performance effect is only achieved with huge amounts of overtime working,” chairman David Riddle said.

“We remain convinced that this is not sustainable without risks to employees and security.”

This is not sustainable without risks to employees and security

David Riddle, MoD police committee

The force guards the Trident submarine fleet at Faslane and the nearby nuclear warhead depot at Coulport in Argyll. Most of the officers are armed.

Other duties include maintaining security at the Atomic Weapons Establishment in Berkshire. And last year the GCHQ spy hub in Cheltham, Gloucestershire, was added to its responsibilities.

The force said it must expand by 300 officers a year to restore strength.

One-in-10 officers is on long-term sick leave or unfit for armed duty because of mental health issues.

Over the past 20 years, the number of MDP officers across Britain has dropped by more than half, from 5,500 to its current number. The report follows figures last month showing the number of unauthorised entries to military bases almost doubled last year, from 24 incidents to 44.

It is feared further cuts on the way because the force was not covered by the UK Government’s pledge to ring-fence police funding in November’s spending review.

Last year whistleblower William McNeilly was thrown out the Navy after he published an 18-page dossier branding the Faslane nuclear fleet “a disaster waiting to happen”.

Bill Kidd, the SNP MSP for or Glasgow Anniesland, said last night: “This is a deeply worrying report – especially on the back of recent news over nuclear weapons being transported through the streets of towns in Scotland.

“If the Westminster government wants to dump dangerous nuclear weapons at Faslane then it is essential that adequate security is in place.

“An even better solution would be to remove the obscenity of Trident from the Clyde – and from Scotland – for good.” But the Ministry of Defence has insisted the force is “fulfilling its duties”.

A spokeswoman added: “The force is currently around 95 per cent manned and has recruited 450 officers in the past two years, with plans in place to recruit a further 200 in the next financial year.

“The committee did identify some matters of concern which are already being addressed by the Chief Constable.”